John thought momentarily that maybe his cat, Zen, was to blame for the disaster. Zen has been known to eat paper, but an entire notebook was a stretch. By Janet Gilmore If you go into Kilian’s …
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By Janet Gilmore
If you go into Kilian’s Hardware and see a guy sweeping up and putting things in order, that’s my friend, John Serpentelli. He’s at Kilian’s because he loves making order out of chaos. Sometimes John and I get together to talk about our writing. The idea is to read what the other person wrote and comment on it, sometimes make corrective suggestions, but sometimes we just talk.
Last week John showed up at Starbucks, his eyes shooting flames with green and black smoke billowing from his head. “Anything wrong?” I asked.
He said, “Last night, I thought about my writing notebook, which I keep in a basket under my desk. I didn't get up out of bed to check if it was there because I knew exactly where it was; all I had to do was go get it and meet you. BUT IT WASN’T THERE THIS MORNING! IT WASN’T ANYWHERE!” Which led John to a six-step program of his own device.
“I don’t want to have to reprint everything. I don't want to, and I shouldn't have to, because I knew where the book is. Was. Despite my ignorance of quantum physics, my notebook should not have transported itself to a parallel universe without saying goodbye. This just can’t be happening.”
John is an artist, an animator, in fact. Artists are sometimes known for being flighty, but John knows exactly where his toothbrush and soap are, not to mention where the front door is.
John lives alone with his cat, Zen. He gave the cat one last accusing look, but the cat turned his back on John and began to clean himself in the most insulting way. His commentary was not lost, but John didn't buy into Zen’s rudeness. Zen has been known to eat paper, but an entire notebook was a stretch, and he didn't look particularly rectangular that day.
In Starbucks, John told me the above sad story and added, “I’m still furious, but at least I found the front door exactly where I left it last night, opened it and left to meet you, a defeated man, without script.”
Ed. Note: John Serpentelli is an animated filmmaker whose films have been featured on HBO, Nickelodeon, PBS and at festivals from New York to Tokyo. He has taught animation classes at Woodmere Art Museum and has given lectures at Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, etc. His independent films have won awards at several festivals.